Of Brats, Romulans & Hyperacceleration

We've taken the voyages of the starship Enterprise one adventure further with a series of original movie-style art print sets commemorating every episode of Star Trek, the iconic American television series that aired from 1966 to 1969.

The Original Series has become a cult classic, and its leading-edge plot lines and mores have influenced many science-fiction TV shows and movies that have followed.

Designer/illustrator Juan Ortiz talks about the inspiration for our second set of Star Trek: The Original Series Art Prints, which includes:

Episode 2: Charlie X. Here Ortiz underscores his message by tying chalk writing to the visual elements. "The twist key helps depict the Enterprise as a toy for Charlie to play with and eventually discard, in this case, in the sand," he explains.

Episode 14: Balance of Terror. Ortiz imbues this sketch with an animated feel. He uses a font called Long Underwear. He says, "It's similar to what you might find in some '50s sci-fi films."

Episode 59: And the Children Shall Lead. The macabre imagery depicts "a child's crude drawing of the Enterprise, with the primary and secondary hull in the shape of a skull [and] the warp engines as bones. It's meant to signify the evil that has taken control of the Enterprise," says Ortiz. "The colors green and orange represent autumn, the time associated with maturity, death and rebirth."

Episode 66: Wink of an Eye. "I think that subconsciously I was inspired by the Man from U.N.C.L.E. logo," notes Ortiz. "I can't think about the original Star Trek and '60s TV without some of those other shows filtering in."

The set and all others in the series will be available for a limited time only. None will be repeated or reprinted after they're gone.